Whispers
by lazy-bones-the-dragon
Summary: G.I. Joe has been ordered to take part in an exchange program. How will some of the best and brightest of the British military learn to deal with their Yankee counterparts across the pond in the Yankee's backyard? Especially when one of them carries a heavy past on her shoulders. OC centric. M to be safe.
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer:

So wow, I'm actually writing G.I. Joe again. I'm not entirely sure what made me suddenly pick up on the fandom again, but here I am!

This is a sort of rewrite for one of my older fics, which is still up because apparently it's popular though I don't understand why, with an OC of mine who has been collecting dust up until now.

I will start off by saying that while I will do my best to research, I am not fluent in the language difference between American English and the Queen's English. I'll do my best to illustrate, but I can't be 100%.

As for the story, I'm doing a mix of comic and cartoon Joe knowledge. There will be characters that "should" be dead, but aren't because I like them too much haha. It will somewhat unique considering that according to Big Ben's file, he didn't join the Joes until 91. But everything will be scooted up to match up better with "modern" times so to speak. I'll try to be as consistent as possible.

Anyways, please be gentle with me! It's been awhile since I mucked around in this fandom. But hopefully I can provide a good read for everyone.


	2. Chapter One

A soft clearing of a throat was the first sign that she was not alone.

Well, it was the first audible sign. She had figured someone was coming up to her room by the sound of familiar footsteps on polished wooden floors. Regardless, she opened her eyes and peered up at the source of the sounds. Li-Min must have been a sight. She was perfectly balanced on her left palm, legs folded up in a lotus position, while her right hand hovered in front of her face with the fingers pointed down. The young woman took her meditation seriously. However, when she recognized the loafers the other person wore, she immediately flipped back to her feet.

"Hello father," she said very quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. Li-Min carefully brushed herself off as her chestnut brown eyes blinked carefully. In a tank top and shorts, the clothing allowed her very fit physique to be shown off. Her black hair, worn loose instead of the bun she normally bound it up in, was brushed out of her face as she cocked an eyebrow. At 1.8 meters, she was a little on the tall side though she still would get head rubs from the man across from her.

The man she called father shook his head at her. Despite the fact she was of Asian descent, her "father", Earl Edward McColl was a proper middle-aged 1.9m English gentleman with his aristocratic and handsome features. Slightly greying at the temples, it only enhanced the sharp and intelligent blue eyes that were gazing at the younger woman with some fondness. Fit and trim despite his age, he was dressed in a casual grey suit.

"Li-Min, I've told you that you don't need to actually use your voice to speak with me. I don't want you stressing your vocal cords out. I taught you sign language for a reason," he chided her warmly. McColl's smile widened when Li-Min rolled his eyes at him. She was the only one who could get away with such small things, at least in private. "Anyway, I want you to get dressed in haste please."

She tilted her head at him as she scooted for her wardrobe. Lin-Min's room was tastefully decorated as any "proper" English lady's room should be. Her protests had fallen on deaf ears; her adoptive father had insisted that when she was on leave and staying at the house, he would see that she received the treatment due to a "lady" of her standing. "Is there something I should be wearing?"

"We're meeting some generals if that helps you." McColl bit back a chortle seeing Li-Min shoot him an alarmed look before she disappeared into her closet. A laugh finally escaped him as he watched some articles of clothing go flying out of the open door and land haphazardly on the bed. "Nothing too formal m'dear, just something to show your military side without being too fancy?"

When Li-Min finally emerged, dressed in a nice pair of khakis with a black turtleneck, she shot him a half glare as she made sure the shirt covered her neck completely. "And what exactly do we suddenly owe the honor of these guests in the McColl manor?" When she saw that smile cross her father's face, the one he reserved when he was feeling particularly sneaky and mischievous, she bit back a knowing groan.

"Now that would ruin part of the sport, now, here is what we are going to do when the guests actually arrive.

* * *

Li-Min mentally tallied up all the things she was going to say to the elder McColl when this was all over. For now, she kept her silence and out of sight. She was currently waiting in a small room that was above and adjacent to the parlor she knew the guests were going to be herded into. Just beyond the door was a small alcove. Her father had had it built specifically for her to basically to allow her a chance to study people before actually having to speak with them. As long as she kept her aura subdued and quiet, no one ever noticed her up there.

Not for lack of trying, from the parlor itself, the alcove appeared to just be part of the decorations along the second floor. The secret door opened up to allow her access to it. Otherwise, even if they did do a scan of the room, they would never have spotted it unless they got a closer look.

When Charles, the family butler, had announced that their guests had arrived, Edward had shooed Li-Min off. She waited until she could hear the murmur of voices had reached the parlor. One was obviously her father, one she recognized as General Callum Taylor, her superior officer who acted as her liaison between the Intelligence Corps and MI-6.

The other voice though…not British, American by the sounds of the accent. Her interest peaked; she waited a few more heartbeats before finally sneaking the secret door open and taking up her perch. From her vantage point, she could see the small gathering. Her father was just handing a glass of scotch to Taylor while the American politely declined.

Taylor looked the same as always, lean and clean shaven. His sandy blonde hair that was just slightly starting to go grey was slightly disheveled as he pulled his cap off; running his fingers through it did little to fix the problem. But it was the American that Li-Min fixed her eyes on.

He was tall and broadly built as well, though with blonde hair. Also decked out in dress greens, US Army by the looks of it, with a fair amount of decorations pinned in their appropriate places. Even as he was casually seated on the cushy armchair, there was no mistaking the aura of authority he held. If he was here, it was for something important.

Taylor took a sip of the scotch and smiled. "You always did have a good taste for the vintages McColl." He settled into his own armchair as he placed the stack of files he had been holding onto the small table that lay between the three men.

McColl settled into his own chair, situated so that he could face the other two men and took a sip himself, though giving Taylor a careful look over the edge of his glass. "Of course I do. But I'm sure you aren't here to discuss high society drinks with me old friend. Especially with a guest from across the pond." He nodded at the newcomer. "Though if I suspect he is who I think he is…"

"Lord McColl, may I present General Clayton M. Abernathy."

Abernathy…Abernathy…why did that name sound familiar? Li-Min tucked her chin into her hands as she watched their American guest shake her father's hand. Well, only way to find out was to keep listening.

"Well well, this should be interesting. What brings such an illustrious American general to my manor? No, let me guess…it as to do something with the _**problem**_ that your unit deals with yes?"

Abernathy, to his credit, initially only raised an eyebrow and gave Taylor a look. The other man shrugged. The American shook his head in some amusement before he spoke. "I see that despite officially being retired Lord McColl, you keep your ears in everything."

"_Of course he does. One does not simply retire from MI-6. Not someone with his career and reputation, Spymaster McColl strikes again" _Li-Min thought to herself. _"Though…what is this American up to?"_

"With due respect, yes. Cobra is fast becoming an international problem. It does not help that some of their major players have strong ties here in Europe. There has been some talk that we should start reaching out to our allies to help contain Cobra." Abernathy tapped the files that Taylor had placed down on the table. "We're experimenting with an exchange program of sorts. The upper brass want to see if the best and brightest of the British military can serve alongside Americans. What do you know of G.I. Joe?"

Finally she had names…sort of. Just another vague ringing of bells but still nothing forthcoming to her memory. Cobra she knew, they had caused enough problems to end up on the watch list and she had participated in a few operations to shake their tree, so to speak. G.I. Joe though…that was unfamiliar to her.

McColl picked up the file on top and flicked it open. "Enough, supposedly one of the best kept secrets of the US military. Primarily formed to be an anti-terrorist unit, but you've found yourselves to be the main force combating the problem that is Cobra. Let me guess, you want to recruit my daughter." He turned the file enough that Li-Min could see in fact that it was her file, complete with all its redactions. Good to know her father's word still held sway up there…

"She is one of the best, even with the little that is available to her record. Top scores in covert ops, high IQ scores, proficiency in hand to hand fighting and weaponry. Endorsements across the board from anyone who has had a chance to work with her. And if I dared to say, she's almost like a ninja," Taylor remarked with a straight face. If only he could see her bristle from her perch, she HATED being called a ninja.

Her father gave Taylor a warning look as he shut the file. "Well, I suppose the only person so ask is the woman in question herself."

That was her cue. With the grace of a cat, Li-Min hoisted herself over the alcove lip and quietly grasped the satin rope on her right. Another thing her father had added around their home, people saw decorations, but for her they served as secret walkways for her to access different parts of the manor. With a small swing, she got her toes on the edges of the wooden pillar and then carefully slid down the gap between it and the wall, making sure to use the pillar to hide her presence. Not that it would do any good for her father; he always seemed to have a knack of knowing where she was at any given time.

"Well then, where is the young lady in question then?" She could hear Taylor's question even as she snuck on her hands and knees to get into the small space hidden behind the tapestry that lay behind her father's seat. Not even a tiny rustle of the heavy fabric. Her father loved his dramatics and he'd be sorely disappointed with her if she gave anything away.

"Why, she's right here of course." Li-Min stopped herself from rolling her eyes at her father's completely smug tone as she swept the tapestry aside and took up a position behind her his chair. Taylor actually jumped in his seat a bit, but fortunately did not spill a drop of the scotch. Abernathy though, did not even flinch, only gave her a look from blue eyes she almost could call amused. He continued to gain notches with her, clearly a man to be respected. Her gaze dropped down though to meet the elder McColl. "Well, I assume you heard everything yes?"

She gave a short nod. He prompted her with a cocked eyebrow and she sighed. He was not going let her off easy. Petite hands went up and quickly signed.

*_General Taylor sir, you did say that it was becoming a little difficult to find missions that adequately challenged me. Also of late, I've been inactive because of that. If this G.I. Joe can make use of my skills and I can help others, I am interested.*_ The British Sign Language came easily to her, she preferred to only use her voice with those she knew very well. And that was a very short list.

"Well you have it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak." McColl shot her a look and earned another silent sigh from her.

She took one step away from the chair, clicked into a smart salute, and signed at Abernathy. _*Sergeant Li-Min McColl of her majesty's army at your service sir.*_

Abernathy stood up and offered his hand, which she looked at dubiously before cautiously returning the handshake. "Please, call me Hawk. I assume you already have a codename for yourself?"

Li-Min blinked carefully. _*Yes sir. In the Intelligence Corps and MI-6, I operate under the codename Whisper. I assume that is the codename I will continue to use while I am a member of G.I. Joe?*_

"Yes, that's fine," Hawk assured her, "remember that this is a preliminary deal for now. We want to see if we can recruit from other countries into the Joes. We're starting with the British Isles because of our already strong ties." His lip twitched. "The names I am looking at came to me highly recommended, including yours. I hope you are ready to deal with working for us."

She hesitated and looked at her father, who only looked back at her impassively. Was she ready for this? It was one thing for her to have gotten used to working along others here in this country even with her…past. To deal with a completely new group? But…if these Joes were as good as Hawk was saying…well, Edward McColl said only the stupid and lazy stopped learning.

_*I am sure sir, Hawke. When am I to fly out?* _

"In two days. I know you have a lot to do considering you will be doing a lot of flying. Also need to get all your paperwork in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. We'll have the files and paperwork you need to look over by tomorrow and further instructions for you as well. I look forward to working with you, Whisper."

Lin-Min nodded, she knew all too well the messiness that could arise over cross jurisdiction cases. The men said their farewells as she was left to mull over what just happened.

So, she was joining an American counter-terrorist organization as a sort of test run. Along with a few others from what hints Hawk dropped. That was good, she didn't know if she could handle Yank culture all by herself, it would help a lot to be around fellow Brits. Adjusting to one culture had been hard enough when she had first come to the country she now called home.

She was so deep in thought that she just barely stopped herself from jumping when she felt Edward's hand clamp firmly on her shoulder. Twisting around to look up at him, she caught the questioning look he was giving her.

"Sweetheart, you sure about this?"

Whisper hesitated. "…father, I know you've done a lot to protect me while I've been here…serving my new country after…after all _**that**_." Her quiet voice was even lower than usual. "I will always and forever be grateful…but I think maybe having a chance to spread my wings, so to speak, would do me some good. The people I work with here…they don't know the whole story but they know enough. I've always had this…this…feeling they don't fully trust me."

Lord McColl sighed as he wrapped his arm around her small shoulders and firmly steered her down one of the hallways. "I figured. I've tried until I was blue in the face, but there will always be those too thick to see reason." He playfully rubbed at her hair, even as she squirmed in vain. "At least you won't be alone. I have a feeling I know what others got nominated for this." At her questioning look, he clicked his tongue at her. "Oh no, I'll let you figure that out for yourself. I keep telling you that you need to be more social."

The irritated look she shot him only made him more amused. "Anyway dear, let's let the rest of the staff know. I'd hate for you to be unable to make your flight because Ms. Baria decided to smother you in her bosom and drowned you in her tears."


	3. Chapter Two

Finally some Joes show up? Disclaimer: I'm an American so I have no flipping idea how to write British/Irish accents or know too much about their slang. I've done research, but I can't say I'm 100% sure I'm getting them correct. Just point something out to me and I'll correct. On with the story!

* * *

Whisper was suddenly reminded why she hated flying so much, especially on civilian flights. She squinted at her smartphone where she had copied down the instructions given to her by Hawk. At least he had managed to get her a direct flight with no layovers. She gave a slow exhale through her nose as she looked up from the phone at the sign that told her where her terminal gate was.

Then again, she had already had to endure the farewell of the manor staff. Her father hadn't been wrong about Ms. Baria's reaction upon learning she was leaving for an indefinite amount of time. The family chef had nearly smothered the young woman with a rib creaking hug, a rather impressive feat for a middle aged and somewhat still petitely built Indian woman. It hadn't helped when the rest of the kitchen staff had pretty much reacted the same way. Only after Lin-Min assured would give her an address to mail her all sorts of vittles did Baria finally let the younger woman go.

Charles, the head butler, had been more restrained in his farewell but it was clear he too was going to miss her. He had assured her that he would send her anything she wasn't able to pack with her in the first trip.

The Chinese Englishwoman was eternally grateful on how her father's household had taken to her. Brief memories of when she had just been a very confused and scared sixteen year old…no, she shouldn't dwell on those. She double checked to make sure the scarf that one of the manor staff had made for her was wound securely around her neck, hefted her knapsack back on her back, and she was on her way to the designated terminal gate. For this trip she had elected to actually wear civilian clothes in the form of jeans and a black polo shirt. Her PSC-CU was neatly pressed and folded in her luggage. The less attention she drew to herself the better. It had already been bad enough that she had had to present a lot of paperwork for the other bits stored in her luggage. The sharp and pointy bits.

London City Airport was as busy as ever. She practiced her skills by making a small game of identifying whether the bustling people were tourists, locals, or here on business. Whisper then remembered that Hawk had told her to expect other military, they had wanted to get the entire group to travel together just for convenience sake. Speaking of which…as the waiting area of the gate came into view, she saw a small group of two that she immediately pegged as the other military personnel who had been picked for this exchange program. The man and woman noticed her approaching and gave her friendly nods.

"Staff Sergeant David J. Bennet. But you can call me Big Ben." The man had a British accent, Estuary English by the sounds of it. He was tall and of medium build. Short and dark brown hair was stuffed under a furred cap. He was dressed as a civilian as well with a dark leather jacket over khaki cargo pants. His light brown eyes were warm as he got up from his seat and shook Whisper's hand as she managed to shrug off her stuff into a free seat.

The other woman waved jauntily from her seat. She was short, shorter then Whisper, with caramel wavy hair tied up in a short ponytail. An emerald blouse with a white undershirt over cream khakis completed her civilian outfit over a slender, but strong build. "Oh good, so I won't be the only lass around here." A cheerful Irish accent colored her words as she winked at Whisper. Just like the Queen's English being spoken behind clenched teeth as her father put it. "Name's Petty Officer Kelsey Smith, codename Merrow."

Whisper's hands moved elegantly as she signed slowly. She wasn't sure the fluency these two had with BSL. _*It is good to meet you both. You may know me as Whisper.* _Merrow was giving her a careful look while Big Ben was staring hard at her hands.

"Whisper right? Sorry, I'm afraid my BSL is a tad rusty. Definitely something I should brush up on." Big Ben gave her an apologetic smile.

"Ooo, just a codename eh? Let me take a gander that you're intelligence," Merrow said cheekily while Whisper merely cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yup, a birdwatcher."

The Irishwoman merely got a curt tongue click in response as Whisper's hands kept up with the slow signing. _*We're just missing one more?*_

Ben nodded. "Indeed, we're boarding soon so I hope he gets here soon." Just as he said that, Merrow gave a small shriek and a jump as a hand clamped suddenly on her shoulder. She immediately launched into a tirade of colorful curses as the owner of the hand took it back and stifled any chuckles he had behind a grin.

"Well I am here so you all can stop your worrying." The newcomer was tall, a little taller than Big Ben, but of a more slender build to the point where he was almost lanky. His dark chocolate hair was cropped short and he wore a dark black leather jacket over a maroon shirt and brown slacks, his own knapsack over one shoulder. A maroon beret finished off his outfit. His equally dark brown eyes were twinkling with amusement as he gave a slight bow. "Lt. Stone at your service."

Whisper eyed him slowly from head to toe. The way he carried himself and how he managed to give away so little despite being genuinely friendly made her peg him as a fellow intelligence agent if she had to take a guess. Merrow had finally stopped her tirade and was giving Stone a dirty look while Big Ben looked to be struggling between grinning and keeping a straight face.

"Well about time chap. Was thinking the ladies here were going to outnumber me." Big Ben got a poke in the ribs from Merrow for his comment to which he playfully brushed her hand away.

"Well I am so sorry my fellow chap, but you know how absolutely dreadful London traffic is. Also had to avoid a gaggle of rather sluggish tourists on my way here." Stone still had that friendly but secretive smile on his face. "Oh and Whisper is it? You don't need to worry about signing at me, I'm fluent in BSL." He gave her a wink. "One of my many skills."

Whisper shook her head at him. He was certainly an interesting one.

**"Now boarding nonstop British Airways to Washington DC." **They all looked up as the announcement was made.

The Chinese expatriate shrugged her knapsack back on her shoulder as she shook away any lasting doubts she had. Her right hand went up to press against her breastbone for a moment before it lowered. They had already crossed the threshold and there was no going back now.

* * *

"So these are our candidates?" Duke closed the folder he had been looking at before picking up another. Four profiles total, some of the files thinner than others and definitely some with a lot more redactions. In fact one had so many that Duke was surprised that anyone could make an assessment of her file.

"They were heaped with recommendations when I asked around." Hawk closed the file he had been looking at. "I believe they are all material to be immediate Joes without having to go through the greenshirt program."

Beach Head was hunched over in his chair, peering closely at the file belonging to one David J. Bennent. "Ah'll admit, some of these files are good…but wha's with this one?" He yanked the file Duke had just been looking at. "Whisper? She barely 'as anything written in here! An' this one!" He pointed at another file. "Wha' kind of codename is Lt. Stone?"

Hawk gave him a pointed look. "From my understanding, she's been involved in a lot of hush work. The kind that was need to know basis only." He remembered how tight lipped all the officials had been in regards to her. They had only given him enough to let him know that she was one of the best. "As for Stone, same thing. Both did work extensively for intelligence, and honestly perhaps his codename is a play on his part. How can one tell if that really is his name or if it's just another trick?"

Beach Head squirmed a bit under that look. "Alrigh'…and she's mute?"

He got a nod from Hawk. "Yes, I've been told she can talk in limited amounts, but prefers to use sign language."

Duke glanced over. "Well, I guess Snake Eyes won't be alone with that trait anymore." He looked at Hawk. "So they are all to be made Joes?

The general tapped his fingers on the files. "Yes. They have the experience and skill I think to skip that part of the process." While he didn't smile, his expression lightened slightly. "I'm sure you'll find it entertaining to break some new Joes in."

Beach Head grinned under his balaclava. "Yes sir."

Duke groaned. "Great Beach, just don't give them a bad image of us. Not even sure what they think of us at this point."

* * *

Whisper resisted the urge to rub at her eyes. Red eye flight was indeed very accurate. So she settled for blinking hard a few times. Going from late to late time was not good on the mind. At least she was moderately alert. Stone looked unaffected by the long flight; Big Ben looked like he was mostly awake while Merrow was just barely swaying in place. Merrow decided to lean against Big Ben as she stifled a huge yawn.

"Bugger I hate traveling like this," Merrow grumbled, "can't get any bloody decent shut eye on those flying metal tubes." She gave an irritated kick at her luggage.

Big Ben patted her on the arm. "Well its over' at least. Now we just need our ride to show up." Stone was squinting further down the road.

"I think that's it coming round." Stone's guess turned out to be correct as a Jeep pulled up and the man with dark black hair and an unshaven look waved at them over.

"Heeeeeey! You the Brits I'm supposed to be picking up?" His question was barely heard over the blaring music he was playing. Whisper suppressed a wince, if this was an indicator of what kind of people to expect in GI Joe, she was not impressed. It wasn't helped by the look the man gave at her and Merrow. "Although even if you weren't…"

Merrow shoved herself off Big Ben and moved to shove her luggage into the back with a disgusted noise. "Shove off ye Yank, I'm too tired to be hit on by a dim." Stone let out a chuckle as he helped her load in everyone else's. Good thing this Jeep had extra trunk space and five actual seats. Merrow climbed into the backseat to take the far side, Big Ben taking the middle, and Whisper taking the closest side. Stone slide gracefully into the front seat next to their new driver and soon they were off.

"Sooooo, how was the flight ladies and gents?" At least the driver was friendly, even if Whisper was still not appreciating the glances he was shooting them.

Big Ben pulled off his cap to run his fingers through his hair before tugging the cap back on. He shook his head at the driver "Well considering that we just spent 8 bloody hours on a plane during a red eye flight, things could be worst." He gave a sideways mischievous look at Merrow. "At least some of us managed not to drool or snor' through most of it though." His reward was a fist jabbed into his ribs.

"Haha, very funny ye Tommy." Whisper shook her head at the antics of the two; at least it had distracted the driver as well.

_*Perhaps introductions are in order?* _Stone finally jumped in and introduced them all to the driver, who eventually introduced himself as Clutch.

"Got a signer among you huh? Might be useful for you to pick up on some ASL, we got one ourselves." Whisper tilted her in curiosity at that. Well, there was nothing wrong with learning more she supposed. "Anyway, Hawk wanted me to tell you guys that he wants you guys up to speed on some files and info about the baddies we've been kicking around. Uh, you don't have to do it tonight," Clutch added quickly, but Stone shook his head at him.

"We had a bit of a kip on the flight; I think we'll be awake for a while yet." Stone cast a look at everyone else who nodded in agreement with him. "Though it would be nice if we didn't have any PT in the morning, unless you want to see a grand reenacting of a zombie apocalypse."

Clutch grinned. "That depends if our cranky drill sergeant will be that generous. Say ladies I could put in a good word for you if-"He was cut off when Merrow rammed her foot against the back of the seat, "HEY HEY! NO KICKING!"

"Then shut yer trap ye prick." Merrow shot Whisper a grin and thumbs up. Whisper could only offer a shake of her head. Thankfully the ride was short, though a bit white knuckled at some points with how Clutch abused his lead footed tendencies, and they were at their destination which turned out to be a…

"…is this a school for Chaplain Assistants?" Stone had a small perturbed look on his face as Merrow gave a wave at the staring young men and women. "…let me guess, they have no idea."

"Noooope." Clutch grinned as he skillfully maneuvered into the garage marked with a giant 2 and parked the Jeep on the hydrolic lift before spotting someone who was fiddling with some of the spare parts that was lying along the left wall. "Heeeeeey Cover Girl! Looking good! Could you maybe bend over just a little-" The beautiful blonde woman instantly sent the wrench she had been holding sailing through the air and managed to smack Clutch's arm sticking out of the window. He drew said arm back in with a yelp while Cover Girl sent an acid torrent of words at him.

Whisper could only stare as Cover Girl threw the lift switch while still cursing Clutch out before suddenly switching to being polite in a heartbeat. "Oh you guys are the new Joes right? I think Hawk is greeting you at the living quarters area. Welcome to the Joes!"

"…bit of loonies aren't they," Big Ben murmured under his breath and the women could only nod in agreement. Stone merely let out a quiet snort as the lift began descending into the ground. "Oh well, now things make sense."

The ride down was…impressive to say the least. Whisper could make out the multiple levels of the Pit, as Clutch had told them the name of the Joe HQ, and she saw everything from a proper motor pool, briefing rooms, and so much more. She spotted Hawk waiting for them where the she assumed was the living quarters, near the bottom. As soon as the lift stopped, the newcomers quickly exited the Jeep and saluted smartly with Hawk returning it.

"So I'm off for the night, but if any of you want some company…" Clutch grinned, but Merrow whipped around to give him a look at made him clamp his mouth shut. "Right, I'll be just going now." Hawk followed the driver's retreating back with a shake of his head before returning his attention to the group. A group of young men and women in greenshirts were carefully removing all the luggage and such to cart away.

"Welcome all of you. Impressed so far?" Hawk nodded at the affirmatives. "I'll be giving a brief tour of the living quarters area. Oh and these." He handed over a stack of files and each of the Europeans took a few. "I'm assuming you'll be up a bit tonight so you all can take a chance to go over those. Physical exams tomorrow at 0800 hours and physical assessment at 0900 hours. You'll be sparring against some of the senior Joes for the latter. You all officially start being on duty day after tomorrow, so take what time you have to get situated and acquainted with your new teammates. Finally in regards to rooming, you're paired off with each other Big Ben and Stone. Merrow and Whisper. Here are your room numbers. Any questions?" He received head shakes. "Alright, the tour starts now."

* * *

"This place is mighty impressive. Maybe' it won't be such a bad assignment after all," Merrow mused as she scanned the file she was looking at. "Tch, look at these loonies, look ready for a delinquents Halloween party." She tapped the file. "Wut kinna name is Dr. Mindbender?"

The group had chosen to sit in the mostly empty mess hall. The kitchen staff there had kindly put together something, mostly small sandwiches, for the group to munch on while they did their reading. The only other people in the hall at this hour were s few others catching a late dinner it seemed.

One Joe had been brave enough to introduce himself as Dusty and he was currently sitting with them to help answer any questions they had about the members of Cobra.

"Oh yeah, well at least it tells you what kind of person he is doesn't it," Dusty said cheerfully. He had a very amicable personality that even allowed Whisper to lower her guard. A little.

Whisper glanced over her file at the one Merrow was holding. The one she herself was reading was concerning a one Baroness. She vaguely recalled hearing the woman's name before in the gossip that flowed inside MI6, but other than that…well; the woman's list of offenses was impressive at least.

"At least a few of these names are familiar," Stone muttered as he flapped his file, "Destro is definitely one I think all of us have heard some point or another." He got grumbles of agreement.

"Cobra certainly is a serious threat, I can see why the American government was open to more cooperation at the international level." Big Ben closed the file on Sebastian Bludd. "Honestly, it's disgusting."

Whisper's eyes fell to the file that had contained Cobra Commander. Though the file had painted him as a mad man…she knew better. Maybe he was a mad man, but he was a charismatic one that had drawn a huge following. That was extremely dangerous.

"So what do you guys think of us so far?" Dusty had such an open and honest face that Whisper wondered if he could have ever told a lie to save his life. "I mean, I know you haven't been here long but…"

Merrow cocked an eyebrow at him. "Honestly, we had' our ideas of what you Yanks are like…you're really living up to your stereotypes." At Dusty's aghast expression, Merrow finally busted into a belly laugh. "I'm messing with ye! Lighten up. I won't call you a Yank if you don't call me a Brit." She puffed her chest out. "I'm Irish an' proud of it!"

_*As long as you lot don't try to pull any of your stereotypes on us, I think we will be fine.* _Stone translated for her and Dusty grinned in a very unconvincing manner.

"Oh don't worry about that." Yes, he was doing a terrible job at lying.

Big Ben stifled a yawn behind his hand. "Yes well, I think we've had enough of this reading and we can all sleep on it. We have tomorrow to do more mingling." He clapped both Whisper and Merrow on the shoulders. Stone gave a friendly nod to both of them as the two men got up to head to their room.

Merrow shrugged and gave a playful shove to Dusty. "If you want to lie, best not to try it with people who know how to tell if you're lying." She jerked her head as the two women neatly gathered up the files to take back to the admin officer since it was on the way for them. One last jaunty wave at everyone in the mess hall and they were out.

The two stayed silent for a while, since Whisper couldn't sign with the files in her hand.

"Hey Whisper." Merrow's prompt made the other woman look at her. "Sorry if I'm being forward about this, but you're a guarded type aren't you?" Whisper merely blinked at her for a moment, but gave a slow nod, noting that Merrow's accent had lightened. "Figured. Don't worry; I'm sure you think I'm some kind of nutter. But I'm a very people person; I change my approach depending on the person. We folks have to stick together. And I'll try to figure out that finger talk of yours, I can do anything once I put my mind to it."

Whisper gave her a long stare and then tilted her head, but gave her a small nod. They dropped the files off finally and were soon at their room. All their things had been neatly tucked away for them. Merrow took the left bed while Whisper took the right. Burrowing herself into the covers, Whisper let her mind wander for a bit over what she had learned.

She wondered what her father was doing right now. Probably wondering what she was up to. Vaguely as sleep finally crept up on her and the silence was only disturbed by Merrow's quiet snores, did she wonder if perhaps here she could finally make her peace with…everything.

Only one way to find out.


	4. Chapter Three

Author Notes: Thanks to everyone who read and to the one who reviewed. :D Its much appreciated. This chapter is a bit longer and there's some action to wet your appetites for the upcoming stuff. :) Enjoy!

* * *

_Study your enemies. Learn their weaknesses. Blend in. When the time is right…STRIKE._

Whisper's eyes snapped opened as the words echoed in her mind. She held her breath and squinted across the darkness at her bunkmate. But Merrow was still fast asleep, snoring quietly. The tight breath escaped as Whisper sat up carefully and a brief glance at the clock sitting on her nightstand told her it was still a little early.

She shakily put a hand to her face and concentrated on just breathing. Meditation had always been her escape, but the words always came back to her. They had been drilled into her for so long, beaten in with blood and pain.

"_But I am not among enemies. I am among allies. I am not one of them anymore," _she thought hard to herself. That personal mantra beat back the words in her head. Noiselessly, Whisper scooted out of her bed and decided to get dressed as it was only an hour before she had to get up anyway. Silent as a ghost, she pulled on a pair of black sweats and dark blue cross over top. A red neckerchief, carefully adjusted, finished off the attire.

Giving another glance at Merrow to make sure the other woman was still asleep, Whisper quietly padded out of their room. Once outside, she pondered on what to do next. Perhaps a visit to the gym to get herself warmed up before the physical exam. It was technically late for the Joes perhaps, Hawk had been somewhat generous in allowing the Europeans some time to try and adjust to the timezone change.

There were already a few Joes in the gym though the only one Whisper recognized was the one named Cover Girl. The said Joe was chatting with another woman with brunette hair and a generous bosom as they both ran on treadmills. There were two men over by the weights and judging by the tone and volume of their voices, were in a heated discussion with each other.

"Hey hey! You're one of the new Joes right?" Whisper's head swung around as a very large man approached her. He wore a vest that left his chest bare to show off the massive Marines tattoo on his chest. She nodded at him in answer and then pointed at her throat with a shake of her head. "Ah, a mute too huh?"

Whisper had working knowledge of ASL though she rarely used it and it showed in her somewhat jerky finger movements. _"Yes, I apologize if my ASL is a little hard to understand. I don't use it very often back home." _Her intelligence training told her to ignore warming up for now; perhaps learning about her teammates would be more beneficial. _"I am Whisper." _

The Marine smiled broadly. "Name's Gung Ho." He noted her curious glance to the other people in the room. "Oh well, lemme get you introduced to some of us! That's Cover Girl and Lady Jaye over there on the treadmills." The two women waved to Whisper, who returned the gesture, though with less enthusiasm. "The bickering married couple back there are Wetsuit and Leatherneck," Gung Ho continued with a jerk of his thumb. His comment earned him an in synced flipping off from the two men. "Ignore them, they always are like that."

Whisper carefully kept her expression blank as she took a seat on an empty bench as Cover Girl gave her a grin. "So Whisper, what branch of the military are you from?"

"_Intelligence Corps." _Whisper noted the look that Lady Jaye was giving her. _"I'd rather not be called by our other nickname thank you." _The other woman smirked, earning a confused look from Cover Girl and Gung Ho. _"Also some work for MI6."_

"It's a rather unflattering nickname for sure. I'll let the others figure it out." Lady Jaye gave a quiet chuckle as her treadmill slowed and she wiped her face with a towel. "But you're a spook huh?"

"_I suppose that is one way of putting it," _Whisper signed a little curtly. _"Someone has to do the work." _She glanced at the clock and noticed she had just enough time to make it to the infirmary for her physical checkup, guess walking here had taken her more time then she had thought. _"I'm sorry but I have a schedule to keep. Perhaps we can do more introductions later?"_ She stopped herself from dodging when Gung Ho clapped a large hand on her shoulder.

"No problem cher! Plenty of talkin' for us and getting to know our fellers from across the pond!" Whisper gave a small internal sigh; she never did well with people who were as highly energized like this. Some nimble movement and she removed herself from Gung Ho's grip, a polite gesture later and she was already out of the gym.

She wanted to make sure that Merrow was up and headed back to their shared room. But she found the Navy woman just exiting as the door came into view. Merrow gave Whisper a jaunty wave as the intelligence agent caught up and they both headed in the direction of the infirmary.

"Blimey, I hope we don't get poked and prodded too much. Not a good way to start the day in my opinion." Whisper gave a small nod in agreement. "And good thing we're having grub after being tossed like flapjacks. I don't think I want to have a reputation as the lady who wasted good vittles by puking them up." Merrow grinned at the slightly perplexed look that Whisper shot her. "Now don't get yer knickers in a twist, I'm just kidding. Think the gents are up?"

Whisper shrugged, it was fine if the ladies got to go first for their examinations anyway. Once the two made it to the infirmary, they met more Joes. First was the soft spoken Doc, who Whisper immediately took a liking to. The other medic on duty was Lifeline who was dressed in an outfit that provoked a comment from Merrow.

"Really? Bright red? Are ye purposefully putting a target on yer ass?" Merrow dubiously looked Lifeline up and down. The man in question gave a small grin. With his glasses and floppy black hair, he honestly looked very non-threatening. He was also a tad on the short side, at about Whisper's height, though Merrow was shorter then him still.

"I want to be identified as a medic while out on the field." Whisper was now sharing Merrow's look as they both stared at him. "I'm a pacifist so I don't carry weapons. At least I have a slight chance of people choosing not to shoot at me?"

Whisper gave a small snort as Merrow's look deepened. _*In my experience, medics tend to get shot at first.* _Doc shook his head at Lifeline's small pout.

"Whisper, I'll be examining you. Lifeline can check you out Merrow." The dark skinned doctor made a gesture to indicate Whisper take one of the private bays. She did so at the last comment from Merrow about something concerning "right no needles or we're going to have problems" before Doc pulled the curtain shut.

The exam itself was exactly as Whisper expected, checking of heart rate and all the mundane things to make sure she was in top shape. She tensed though when Doc stared at her feet and the network of scars that laced over them. The scars were greatly faded with age, but their pattern made it obvious that there were deliberately made. He gave her a questioning look but she merely shook her head at him as she pulled her socks back on. She gave an internal sigh of relief when he chose not to comment and proclaimed her fit for duty as he leafed through her file.

"So do you have partial or complete voice loss?" Whisper held up two of her fingers in a pinching gesture. "Oh so you can speak a little, but I assume it's stressful on your vocal cords?" She nodded. "Well that shouldn't be a problem. One of our resident ninjas is a mute himself so a fair number of us know sign language." He caught her staring at him intensely. "Yes, I said ninja. In fact, we have four of them."

Whisper hid a scowl as she nodded again. She gave him a small bow of thanks as he swept the curtain back again just in time to see Merrow was complete with her exam as well.

"Excuse ye, my small size happens to be an asset to me. I'll let ye know right now that anyone that has tried to call me tiny or short regrets it!" Merrow huffed as Whisper's lip twitched. The fiery Irishwoman was starting to grow on her.

"Careful, if you were any smaller, the Royal Navy could use you as a mascot." Merrow scowled as Big Ben's voice floated through the door. The man in question appeared with a wide grin while Stone was behind him with a barely hidden amused expression.

"All the better to reach people's shins with." Merrow's scowl was still in place, but she had a playful light in her eyes as she shoved Big Ben in the stomach. "Blimey, yer built like a rock." She grinned at Stone when he raised an eyebrow at her. "You two should switch names." With a chuckle, she gently took Whisper's wrist and pulled the both of them out of the infirmary. At Whisper's questioning look, she shrugged. "Hey, he's easy on the eyes and he's got a sense of humor when he isn't trying to be all stoic and proper." Whisper dodged the elbow to the ribs from her. "Oh come on, you gotta admit those two blokes are pretty fine."

_*Frat regs Merrow.* _Whisper was already signing before she remembered that Merrow didn't understand BSL, but Merrow had narrowed her eyes at her.

"And don't ye use that frat regs nonsense on me. If ye haven't noticed, I don't think this entire unit is exactly on the straight line. Besides, nothing wrong with looking." She clapped Whisper on the shoulder when the taller women gave a slight sigh. "Now we just gotta wait for the blokes and then we get to see who we're getting into a proper tussle with."

* * *

Whisper had to admit she had been a tiny bit surprised to find a fully functional dojo in the Pit. There were already some Joes milling about, probably waiting for the hand to hand class to begin. Though they had not officially started their duties here, it seemed that the class would serve to also allow the instructors to assess the skills of the new Joes. She was only glad she was wearing the pants she was, they somewhat hid the scars on her feet. Socks were not a good idea to wear on a mat unless you wanted to lose your footing.

Speaking of the instructors, she could only assume the three Joes standing in the middle of the dojo mat had to be them. One was a very fit woman with intense scarlet hair, but it was the other two that caught the foursome's gaze, particularly Whisper's.

One was dressed in all black, save for the silver shine of his visor. He presented an overall fearsome appearance. The other…well, he was dressed in what could only be described as stereotypical ninja attire, all in stark white. Wonderful…actual ninjas.

"Alright everyone listen up, as you can see looks like our new Joes are here. I want everyone to get an idea of how our new teammates fight so pay attention." The red haired woman looked at the Europeans. "My name is Scarlett. I'm one of the hand to hand trainers here. This is Snake Eyes," she indicted the one in all black who gave them a small wave. "The one in white is Storm Shadow." The man in question gave them a penetrating look.

"I dun like the look that white one is giving us," Merrow muttered to Whisper, "like a cat sizing up a batch of mice." Whisper nodded agreement but didn't take her eyes off Storm Shadow as Scarlett continued talking.

"Alright, so who wants to go first?" There was a pause as the four looked at each other and came to a decision without words. Big Ben raised his hand first. "SAS fighter right?

Big Ben gave a small grin as he stood up to head to the center of the mat to face Scarlett. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow stood off to opposite sides where they could observe. "Well as our motto says, who dares wins." Whisper sat up a little straighter, she wanted to pay attention to everything that was to happen. But something told her this wasn't going to end well for her teammates.

Whisper was surprised she could learn so much in such a short amount of time. Short because the three people that went before her honestly were handily handed their asses to them by the Joe instructors. Big Ben had proven to be mostly a brawler which still didn't help him as Scarlett had thrown him to the mat several times before locking his arm into a submission hold that forced him to give up. Merrow was the same, though she had given Scarlett a bit of a run for her money with her quick footwork and almost got a few lock holds on the Joe. Scarlett ended up having to almost sit on the Irishwoman, who finally gave up amidst a quiet torrent of language.

Stone had surprised Whisper a bit. He was not a brawler and his form she had recognized as Savate mixed with some Krav Magna. He managed to last the longest against Scarlett, but he too as defeated when she swept his legs out of under him and he had chosen not to get back up with a comment that he knew he was outclassed. Now she was the only one left…and she was facing Storm Shadow.

She hid her dislike of the entire situation behind a set jaw and bowed to the white clad ninja, who was radiating just a bit too much smug confidence then she liked. A deep breathe through her nose and she shoved away all her emotions. She felt her heart settle into a steady beat and her focus sharpened. Storm Shadow had taken an offensive stance, no doubt waiting for her to make the first move.

But Whisper didn't. Instead she planted her feet slightly apart and lightly crossed her arms over her chest. Her chestnut eyes were hard as she stared down at Storm Shadow. There was some muttering from the other Joes when they noticed she still had not made an attack on him, and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Scarlett and Snake Eyes share a glance. Storm Shadow looked confused, then impatient.

"What, are you afraid? I promise that I won't hurt you…too badly." His tone normally would have brought out a note of annoyance from Whisper, but she felt nothing. She didn't break her eye contact with him, causing him to actually sound impatient as he glared at her. "Hit me!"

Whisper finally shook her head. It looked like she would have to actively provoke him. Her ASL, though shaky, conveyed her flat tone. _*I would have thought a ninja was supposed to take advantage of making the first move. Perhaps your reputation is sorely overclass-*_

That did it; Storm Shadow sprang at her, too fast for anyone to see.

Or anyone that hadn't had the brutal training that Whisper herself had gone through since her earliest memory. She saw his arm come at her with a strike and instinct took over. She did a short hop to avoid the strike, and at the same time her right arm came up, then down in a powerful chop right on top of his forearm. She barely heard the shouts of surprise from some of the other Joes as she felt her opponent's arm vibrate from the force of her blow. But he was good; he recovered with a spinning kick even as his nerveless arm was pulled back.

Her other arm was already up and her wrist blocked the kick. Whisper's leg shifted forward, and she allowed the momentum of his kick to transition her block into a hold on his ankle as she swung him around her. Storm Shadow recovered yet again with a brief roll that brought him back onto his feet. His eyes were now lacking any of that mocking light he had held before; instead they were now hard and giving her a calculating look as he shook feeling back into the arm she had struck.

"YEA' WHISPER KICK HIS ARSE!" Merrow had one hand cupped around her mouth as she whooped. Big Ben and Stone were simply looking at her with a mixture of awe and surprise. Whisper was so focused on the fight forever that she barely noticed. Storm Shadow attacked again and Whisper made to counter.

But his attack was a feint. His arm pulled back as he closed the distance on her and she gave a small grunt of surprise when she felt him seize her by the arm to throw her. Whisper's hands came out through as she did a back handspring and slammed her feet to the mat, planting herself again. Her blood was roaring in her ears as her hands were brought up and her fingers curled into claws.

"That's enough!" At the sharp commend, Whisper immediately snapped out her trance. Her hands settled back at her sides as Storm Shadow also relaxed from his stance, his gaze never leaving her. She looked sideways at Scarlett, the one who shouted. The woman was giving her an odd look too. As for Snake Eyes…his visor hid his eyes but Whisper was sure he was also giving her an intense look. "I think we've seen enough…we'll divvy you all up into the appropriate classes." Scarlett gave another long glance at Whisper before making a gesture to dismiss the new Joes.

* * *

"LASSIE! What the hell was that? You've been holding out on us!" Merrow clapped a hand around Whisper's shoulder, nearly causing the intelligence agent to drop her tray. Stone shot a hand out to steady the tray and Whisper gave him a grateful look as they finally began picking out their breakfast. She gave a sigh as she loaded her tray with toast, scrambled eggs, and oatmeal. Merrow was still chattering when the four of them chose an empty table to sit out, Stone and Big Ben sitting opposite of the women. Out of the corner of her eyes, Whisper could see people staring and whispering, though mostly their gazes were on her. No doubt her little demonstration in hand to hand had already spread through the Pit like wildfire. "I mean the rest of us got tossed like bad salad, but you! You actually stood your own!" Merrow snapped her fingers. If only Scarlett had let the fight go on just a wee longer…"

Whisper suppressed a wince as she occupied herself with the oatmeal. _*I would rather not have had the fight go on any longer.* _Stone gave her a look that she couldn't read as he translated her, if she had to take a guess though, it was sympathetic.

She in turn didn't want to expand on her cryptic answer. It had been a very long time since she had been in a fight like that. That emptiness that she had felt along with the complete focus tinged with…it brought back some bad memories. Merrow seemed oblivious until Big Ben poked her in the forehead to detract her from her rambling and instead got her rambling at him instead. Whisper just let out a breath as she poured a little milk into her oatmeal and tucked in. She had barely gotten her first spoon in her mouth when a loud voice made her jump. This time is was she managed to keep a grip on her spoon.

"HEEEEY! So I heard you actually almost made Storm Shadow sweat!" Whisper whirled around in alarm to see Gung Ho sitting at the table behind her along with a few other Joes. One of them grumbled as he dug into his pocket to dig out a couple of bills and slap them into Gung Ho's hand. "I told you Ace that she was gunna be a tough one." Ace in turned rolled his eyes.

Whisper simply bunched up her shoulders and tried to make her profile as small as possible. She was wishing fervently now that she was sitting next to Big Ben. Damn it all, perhaps she shouldn't have done that in hand to hand. But the thought was instantly shoved aside; it was her obligation to allow her teammates to know her capabilities. So, she just gave a shrug instead, but didn't relax her shoulders as she tried to concentrate on breakfast. Another Joe suddenly plopped down in the empty seat next to Stone and clapped the man around the shoulder. This one was big with dark hair and eyes. The blue sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to reveal the anchor tattoo. If that wasn't enough to peg him as Navy, the sailor's hat on his head just sealed the deal.

"I for one, welcome our limey friends to our shores. And Storm Shadow needs someone else who can knock him down a peg…YEOWCH," the sailor yelped as Stone seized one of his fingers and bent it enough to make the other man unwrap his arm.

"Right, mind not doing that chap? I don't want to waste good toast," Stone said nonchalantly as he released the Joe's finger. "Where I come from, we do proper introductions before we try to get chummy."

Dusty had slid into the free seat next to Whisper and he had enough sense to notice her discomfort to wink at her.

"Nice going Shipwreck. You realize that Storm Shadow is going to find out you said that and probably drill you in to the mat in the next hand to hand class." Shipwreck immediately looked around him for the white ninja, but saw no sign of him. Dusty snickered as the sailor gave him a dirty look. "Hey just a fair warning."

"Yeah yeah, but dang I didn't know that the limeys actually came in pretty nice loo-" Whisper's mood dropped further and she did NOT want to deal with this. Before Shipwreck could finish his sentence, she fixed her gaze on him. She narrowed her right eye and her lips set in a hard line. Her icy glare stopped Shipwreck cold. He sputtered something that was unintelligible before he tried to make as much as graceful an exit as he could, trying very hard not to make eye contact with Whisper. Only until he had retreated to a table on the other side of the mess hall did she relax her glare.

Merrow snorted. "Ye have to teach me how to glare like that." Whisper gave a tiny snort. "Oh, trade secret eh?"

Big Ben looked down at his tray and shook his head as he changed the subject. "Wot I would give for a proper nosh…" Merrow made a face at him as she glared at her milk.

"It's a shame that the milk in this country is so bland and dead, but if you look hard, you can find good milk." Merrow snickered at the look Dusty was shooting her before she noted that Whisper still had not relaxed her shoulders. "Oiy Whisper, relax before ye get stuck like that." She got a flat look in return. "Oh don't give me that, not good posture is wot ye've got there."

Whisper merely shook her head and once again started on her breakfast. This was proving to be trying.

* * *

"Now this I am familiar with," Big Ben grinned as he carefully cocked the rifle that lay in his lap. The SAS fighter looked over the weapon with practiced eyes and hands. Whisper could hear him through the racks of weapons in the quartermaster's storage as she hunted around for her personal case. She made an exasperated huff when she found it, buried under a pile of other crates. She poked her head around the rack.

Merrow chuckled at Big Ben as she also went over the rifle that she was holding. "I just like ye more and more tommy, a big man who likes big guns." She laughed louder as Big Ben gave her an incredulous look. "Something the matter?"

Big Ben narrowed his eyes at her, but there humorous light in his eyes as he shook his head at her. Whisper cleared her throat to catch their attention. _*Sorry to interrupt, but could someone help me? Some blighter buried my case underneath a bunch of crates and I'm not strong enough to move them.* _She gave another low growl as Big Ben and Stone stood up to come over where she was. In short order, they had managed to shift the crates enough so that she could slide the silvery case out. The case itself was about half as long as she was tall.

"Shipped your own shinies did ye?" Whisper gave Merrow another flat look as she unlatched the case's lid and opened it. "…wait a tick, is that a BLOODY SWORD?"

Whisper hid her grin as she did indeed pull out a sword, a Jian sword to be exact. Unlike the ones that perhaps most people were familiar with, this weapon was not made for showmanship. As she drew it from its black leather sheath; the narrow blade gleamed in the fluorescent light of the room and was free of any decorations. The hilt was also bound in black leather and the pommel had the one sole decoration, a Chinese character stamped on both sides. Along with the sword were throwing knives that were neatly packed into both a thigh and wrist holders.

Big Ben gave an appreciative whistle. "Remind me to be glad that you're on our side lass." Whisper gave him a twitch of her lips as she repacked everything after making sure they had survived their trip unscathed. This had cheered her mood considerably.

* * *

The rest of the day had been spent with Stone and Whisper giving an impromptu BSL and ASL lesson to Big Ben and Merrow in the rec room. Whisper was not surprised to learn that Stone knew ASL as well. The man seemed to like pulling secrets out bit by bit. They also swapped a few stories, where of course, Stone and Whisper gave them the "it's classified" excuse for telling the others so little.

Whisper had only given that she was originally from China before immigrating to England. She had started her military career as young as possible had garnered her skills from there. She didn't give any more than that.

Stone had rubbed the back of his neck before he admitted he had originally served in the Paras before he transferred to the intelligence agency he had worked for before joining the Joes. Merrow grinned when she gave the story of how she had held her breath longer than any other cadet in her class and also had set a small swim record despite being weighed down. Also the time she had made her sergeant clamp his jaw shut when she was able to perform a water rescue with a man twice her size.

Big Ben had surprised them all when he told them of how he had qualified for the SAS. Whisper knew that one of the tests the potentials were put through was the Long Drag. Thirty miles of forced march over marshland and hilly country while carrying sixty pounds of gear. The participants were given only twenty hours to complete the whole thing; it was the ultimate test of endurance and landmark navigation.

To learn that Big Ben not only completed it in twelve hours, but had also taken the time to have a light supper and then volunteered to go back out to look for lost recruits? Yes, that had been impressive even by Whisper's standards.

Merrow had given him an appreciative look after punching him in the shoulder before the thing she had been trying to learn reminded her to look down. She clapped a hand over her eyes and squinted through her fingers at the flash cards laid out before her. "Ugh, one finger sign looks like the other." She glared at Stone when he chuckled. "Dun give me that, I'll figure it out!"

Stone in turn flicked up a card with the BSL sign for the letter H. "Then wot is this one my dear Merrow?" She squinted hard at the card in his hand and then deliberately looked him in the eye.

"That's the letter H." She grinned widely as Stone clapped her on the shoulder and gave her a shake of congratulations. "See I told ye!"

Whisper gave her a thumbs up. She was glad that at least her group would be able to understand her. So far she was still unsure amidst the company of people who had strange accents and a certain lack of sanity.

"So what do you make of the Joes so far," Big Ben questioned quietly as he helped to clean up the cards. He glanced around the rec room, luckily it was so noisy with all the off duty Joes starting to gather up that it was a low chance that they would be overheard. They got some glances, but it seemed the Joes had decided to leave them be for now.

"Right balmy lot they are. At least things around here aren't going to be boring anytime soon." Merrow shrugged her shoulders and stretched her arms over her head. "I'm not looking forward to PT tomorrow morning. Wot's her name…Covergirl? Told me to prepare to get dirty."

Whisper's ears perked. She enjoyed a physical challenge so perhaps she did not hold the same ideas of PT like others did. It was just another thing that seemed to isolate her from others she noted with resigned logic.

The group decided to turn in early; being sleep deprived would not help them in the morning. Merrow threw Big Ben for another loop when she gave him a peck on the cheek. He had sputtered a little bit before Stone had taken him by the arm and steered him swiftly away. The women could hear the SAS fighter whispering something fiercely to Stone that had prompted the taller man to laugh at him.

"He makes it too easy. Besides, have yet to hear him to tell me ta stop," Merrow snickered as the two made their way back to their room. Whisper rolled her eyes slightly in return. "Aw don't give me that. Ye need to learn how to relax missy."

_*Somehow I think our ideas of relaxing are very different from each other.*_ Whisper signed slowly for Merrow's benefit as the Irishwoman stuck her tongue out at her as she punched in the code for their room. Merrow threw herself onto the bed as both began to dress for sleep. Whisper noted that Merrow was giving her scarred feet that curious look but Merrow tactfully chose not to comment and instead gave Whisper a playful grin.

"Psh, you never know. Anyway, ready for a real day tomorrow?" Whisper gave a noncommittal shrug as she quickly rolled herself up into her blankets. The misgivings she had had from the morning slowly faded away as she forced herself to sleep. If she had taken another moment look at Merrow, she might have seen the look of concern that passed over the woman's face before Merrow too rolled over.


End file.
